]]>Apple recently introduced two new formats, iTunes LP and iTunes Extras, which deliver additional content to album and movie purchases, respectively. Apple also only just updated the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions agreement, and AppleInsider spotted some key changes in that document that point to an upcoming Apple TV update that will support the new formats.

It seems inevitable that the new bonus material featured in LP and Extra releases, which includes things like photos, videos, mini-documentaries and commentary, would become accessible on Apple’s home theater device, but this is the first official confirmation that it is in fact on the way. It would seem to suggest that we’ll see the update sooner rather than later, too.

Both iTunes LP and iTunes Extras are based on the TuneKit JavaScript format, which uses HTML, CSS and other open web standards. It’s designed for a 1280×720 pixel resolution, which fits perfectly with HD TV sets and the HD output resolution of the Apple TV.

While it may not come as a surprise, a new major update for the Apple TV firmware would be the first big one since the “Take Two” 2.0 update that came at Macworld Expo in January 2008. Other things expected to arrive with it include Quicktime X and the HTTP Live Streaming protocol, both of which were recently introduced as features of OS X Snow Leopard.

It sounds like it’s shaping up to be a decent little upgrade for Apple’s main foray into the living room, but it doesn’t really sound like anything that’s going to turn heads among people who are on the fence about buying the device. Apple has recently taken some steps to increase Apple TV sales, including getting rid of the 40 GB model altogether and dropping the price of the 160 GB version. Which is great, but there’s still a lot more Apple should be doing to make the device viable.

Like the Mac mini, the Apple TV seems to be lagging behind other Apple offerings in terms of the tech behind it and its software capabilities. Many new TVs coming to market now offer built-in functionality comparable to a lot of what Apple TV brings to the table, beyond access to the iTunes Store and all of its associated content. And HD-capable nettops from companies like Asus offer a fully functional home theater PC at a comparable price, with better storage options and more.

A software update is great, but Apple needs to do more than just what’s expected to breathe some life back into its least exciting device.

]]>The Facebook 3.0 iPhone application is finally available for download in the iTunes store. Though the app was submitted to Apple on Aug. 16, its release has been widely anticipated for months by iPhone users (especially Om).

When we took it out for a test drive, we found that it’s made huge strides over the previous version when it comes to replicating what the full Facebook user experience is like. Not only can you view and RSVP to events, but the Like function is now available. Still, we hope the next version will let us create an event and invite friends directly from our iPhones.

While iPhone users can now create and upload photos directly to the app, the time it takes to thumb through friends’ photo albums was still a bit long because it took a few seconds for the photos to load each time.

Overall, the less-cluttered user interface makes it easier to quickly navigate around the app. Though it’s still missing some functions, this app is a notable improvement from the previous version. Readers, what do you think of it? Please share your reviews in the comments section.

]]>For those of you waiting with baited breath for Facebook 3.0, the time has come. Pretty much exactly in time for that two week turnaround estimate, too, despite fears it might not make it. Here’s a taste of what’s available with the new update:

As you may already know, one of the improvements that came along with iPhone 3.0 was mobile Safari’s ability to access the iPhone and iPod touch’s geolocation services. Geolocation is quickly becoming a feature that more and more web developers are looking at implementing, especially given that the recently released Firefox 3.5 and Chrome 2.0 support it. It boggles my mind how far we’ve come from the days of avatars and handles, when only a rare few ever shared their real name and photo online, let alone their actual, real-time location.

King of the Internet that it is, Google is spearheading the implementation of location services on the web. It recently introduced location support in Google Maps for Firefox and Chrome users, which works pretty much like the Maps app on your iPhone or Android device does, albeit using Wi-Fi signal towers for most computer users (who don’t likely have GPS capabilities in their machines), so it’s more comparable to the iPod touch. As of yesterday, Google’s mobile search site also supports geolocation, which works perfectly with the latest version of Safari for the iPhone.

Once you grant Safari (and Google.com) access to your device’s location, you’ll see a little blue dot on the main search page, with your location spelled out next to it. When you change locations, you’ll have to manually update by clicking a link next to that, but if you tend to stay in one place like myself, Google seems to be content to remember your choice for quite some time, so you won’t have to find yourself each time you visit.

Searching for things like restaurants, maps or directions, will then bring up results relevant to where you are. Even though the stated location doesn’t seem to be any more specific than the city you’re in, I found that a search for “closest grocery store” actually came up with results in my immediate area, although it did miss the one right across the street from me, so that could just be because I live downtown.

Still, it’s very handy to have Google be even broadly aware of where you are in the world when returning search results. Especially in a mobile device, which you generally use when you’re out and about, and therefore in need of on-the-spot directions and info about local amenities and services. Hopefully where Google has gone, others will follow, and we’ll see geolocation built-in to many more web apps and services. I would love to see some corporate websites like Best Buy work it into its retail store finder pages, but considering the rate at which retail chains usually implement new tech, I’m not holding my breath.

Back in the Dark Ages (iPhone 2.0 firmware) jailbreaking your iPhone had many points of merit. It could give you MMS, Copy & Paste, tethering, video recording, info on your lock screen and more. However, the reasons I jailbroke were for MMS, Copy & Paste, and Internet tethering.

So when the much-awaited 3.0 release was finally here, I thought to myself, “Great, no need to jailbreak anymore.” I installed my developer’s copy of the beta firmware and there was much rejoicing with smooth, Apple home-cooked MMS, copy & paste, and Internet tethering.

But then, as I watched episodes of “Arrested Development” via XBMC using my iPhone as the remote, or lay in bed on my side trying to read news feeds without the screen rotating when I didn’t want it to, I really, really missed SBSettings. So it came to be that the day the jailbreak dev team released its official PwnageTool for 3.0, I immediate jailbroke my 3.0 iPhone. Just for one application: SBSettings. It really does bring that much convenience to the table.

So what is SBSettings? Its a HUD interface that’s available from any screen that also displays the status bar at the top; thus almost all applications. To activate the HUD you simple swipe your finger across the status bar, left or right, or even down from it. The HUD will then smoothly slide from the top of the screen to give you lots of information and toggles.

As well as giving basic information about your phone (IP Addresses, memory usage, free space), you can configure which toggles you want to display, and other developers can write their own toggles that interface with it. Above you can see the toggles I have configured; they are as follows:

Processes

This brings up a list of currently running applications. Of course since Apple only allows its apps to run in the background by default, this will usually only display the Mail, Phone, Safari and iPod apps (unless you’re using the jailbreak Backgrounder tool). More importantly, it allows you to kill these apps. If my iPhone is running slower than usual, having a look in here usually shows that iPod and Safari are also still running, and by killing them I can force the system to free up memory and processor power immediately.

Brightness

I leave the iPhone’s brightness control on auto, but sometimes it doesn’t work so well — especially if I’m in bed playing Peggle, FlightControl, or catching up on feeds while my wife is trying to sleep. The brightness toggle simply gives you a quick easy way to control the screen brightness.

KeepAwake

KeepAwake is one of the third-party plugins for SBSettings that when toggled will keep your Wi-Fi connection awake even if the phone is sleeping. This is ideal when using your iPhone as a remote control for XBMC or VLC or anything else. Without it, you use the remote to start watching a TV show or a movie and then put your phone down. Half an hour later you pick it up to hit pause and then have to wait for up to 30 seconds for the Wi-Fi to reconnect before you can do so. KeepAwake solves this issue; just toggle it on when needed and then toggle it off when done watching TV. When it’s toggled on, it also puts a little indicator in the status bar to remind you that it’s on.

Wi-Fi

This lets you quickly toggle Wi-Fi on and off, making it a lot easier to conserve battery power when you know you don’t need Wi-Fi. If you hold the toggle down, another HUD will pop up with info about which Access Point you’re connected to.

SSH

Along with the jailbreak you can install OpenSSH to give you direct access into your phone. This is really only of interest for the technically curious (or for copying videos created with Cycorder), but this toggle lets you turn the SSH opening on or off, thus reducing a potential security hole (especially if you install OpenSSH and forget to change your iPhone’s root password).

Bluetooth & Phone

I doubt I need to explain these, but I will anyway. The Bluetooth toggle lets you quickly toggle Bluetooth on and off, while the Phone toggle turns the phone on and off. You can quickly enter flight mode by ensuring the Phone, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi toggles are all off. For me, its about complete and easy control.

Rotation

The Rotation toggle installs with the Rotation Inhibitor application and allows you to lock the screen to a specific orientation. I find this is perfect for those times when using your iPhone lying down on your side. Tapping and holding the toggle lets you chose into which orientation you want to force the phone.

What Else?

There are also SBSettings toggles for typing auto-correction, 3G and EDGE and the GPS. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a Tethering toggle released by somebody in the next month or so to allow quick toggling of Internet tethering. You can also quickly shut down or reboot your phone, and configure the battery percentage text (and date display) in the status bar.

SBSettings is all about providing quick and easy control so you can maximize efficiency. For me, it’s the only reason I jailbreak, and until Apple provides something as sleek, quick and easy, I will continue to jailbreak.

]]>As you’re probably aware if you read any mobile tech blog, including our favorite jkOnTheRun, the Palm Pre is set for a June 6 release date as of today, and will run you $199 with a $100 mail-in rebate, or $299 if you’re too lazy to drop that rebate in the mailbox. It’s big news, big enough to completely dominate the tech blogosphere today, which may be the reason new leaked iPhone specs also just recently made an appearance.

Unlike earlier hardware details posted by a Chinese forum-goer, the newest rumored specifications are far from underwhelming. In fact, they basically agree with pretty much every other early report we’ve seen to date, which either supports or takes away from the credibility of the new source. The origin of these latest specs is reported by AppleiPhoneApps.com as being “closely connected to Apple’s hardware development team.”

Here’s a brief overview of what we’re supposedly getting from Apple in June:

32GB and 16GB storage (up from the current 16GB and 8GB models)

$199 and $299 price points to be maintained

3.2-megapixel camera (up from the current 2-megapixel camera)

Video-recording and editing capabilities

Ability to send a picture and video via MMS

Discontinuation of the metal band surrounding the edge of the device

OLED screen

1.5 times the battery life of the current models

Double the RAM and processing power

Built-in FM transmitter

Apple logo on back will glow

Rubber-tread backing

Sleeker design

Built-in compass

The camera, GPS, compass and Google map combined will identify photos and inform about photo locations

Turn-by-turn directions

A lot of these add up with other reports (OLED screen, 3.2-megapixel camera, video recording/editing), but some seem much more far-fetched (like the glowing Apple logo). I’m really hoping that the 1.5 times battery life estimate is on the conservative side. Personally, I think the stats are completely reasonable and in line with what we’ve heard so far, but that doesn’t necessarily make them accurate, so definitely take them with a grain of salt.

]]>It’s getting down to the wire, and Apple clearly means business. Yesterday they sent out an email to those enrolled in the iPhone development program notifying members that all apps submitted will now be reviewed for approval using iPhone OS 3.0. That means that even if you were designing your app using the iPhone 2.0 SDK, as Apple has insisted that all apps submitted until now must be, it’s finally time to break out the 3.0 SDK and see if your work is compatible with the new software. If not, better get it into shape quick, because now Apple has yet another reason to reject you.

In the notification email from Apple, they also cover existing apps already available in the App Store. According to them, all apps should (theoretically) already be compatible with the new software. In my experience, this isn’t exactly true, with some very odd behavior coming from some apps, like eBay mobile not letting me successfully sign in. There are other quirks as well, but hopefully devs take this last month to test and correct both of those so that when iPhone 3.0 officially launches people don’t encounter the same annoying ticks that beta testers have experienced.

Bad user experience isn’t the only thing devs have to fear if they don’t make sure their existing apps play nice with the new software, though. Apple notes in the email that should any app prove incompatible with iPhone 3.0 once it goes live, they reserve the right to remove it from the App Store. Hopefully this isn’t just an empty threat, because it could help trim at least some of the vaporware fat from the store.

This week, Apple deviated from their usual biweekly update schedule and released yet another installment of the iPhone OS 3.0 beta. As of last week, the beta has been accompanied by an iTunes 8.2 pre-release build, and an updated version of that accompanies the beta firmware and the SDK. Aside from the single-week interval, the beta is also unusual in that it was released on a Wednesday night, instead of a Tuesday, when Apple has usually released new iterations in the past.

There are a few different reasons Apple might be stepping up the release schedule. First, WWDC is coming up very soon, and they might be speeding up the development schedule in order to get a stable product out the door come early June. They might also have picked up on a nasty security vulnerability before anyone else did for once, and therefore a quick patch along with any bug fixes completed to date was required.

There’s a final reason for the early release, which seems to be best supported by the information available to date. It looks like Apple has tried to block MMS access entirely for Beta users by preventing people from being able to switch carrier .IPCC files via iTunes. With all earlier builds, it was possible to do a force restore to an edited version of the file, which users had managed to hack in order to enable tethering and MMS on their devices, which were not meant to be available to users until the full version of the OS is released. The update also hides MMS features in the iPhone’s GUI for U.S. users. The MMS functions have never been visible on my iPhone, which is Canadian.

Apple looks to have pushed out an early release specifically to stop users from fooling around with hacked .IPCC files, and given the odd timing of the release, probably at the insistence of AT&T and/or others of their carrier partners. It’s possible that the early iTunes build was introduced specifically to stop this, and that the first build either didn’t succeed or was introduced early just to allay suspicion as to its ultimate purpose. This also seems to indicated that the beta pool is large enough that unauthorized MMS and tethering usage was actually having a significant effect on carriers.

Either way, we’ll have to wait and see if developers come up with another workaround. If not, there’s only a month left before WWDC ’09, so users anxious to get MMS and tethering up and running won’t have long to wait.

]]>In keeping with the release schedule they’ve established, Apple yesterday let loose new versions of its iPhone 3.0 OS and accompanying SDK. This time around, developers got another goody, in the form of an early pre-release of iTunes 8.2. The new version of iTunes is apparently required for activating the new iPhone OS beta, build 7A300g. As always, users must also install the latest iPhone SDK (build 9M2732) in order for the update to work properly.

The new iTunes pre-release is stealing the spotlight this time around, thanks to a mention in the “About iTunes” legalese of Blu-ray (screenshot above) among other formats mentioned in conjunction with Gracenote, the software used to gather track information when CDs or other media are played back in Apple’s media jukebox app. Many are speculating that this could foretell the coming of the sometimes maligned video disc format to the Mac platform.

Before you get too excited, though, realize (as Gizmodo points out) that the same legal content in iTunes 8.1.1 (the current version) didn’t list DVD, so the inclusion of Blu-ray doesn’t necessarily indicate anything. Unless, of course, it indicates an upcoming ability to play back (folding DVD Player into iTunes and getting rid of the separate app) and/or import from both sources, in addition to CDs. Now that’s tantalizing.

On the iPhone side, there are some nice new features that I actually am really happy to finally see included. The “Store” menu that showed up in previous builds, but that didn’t actually have any content, now lets you sign in and out of your iTunes account, and view and change your account payment details and credit card information. The less dependent on iTunes the iPhone becomes, the better, in my opinion, and this virtually cuts the cord. Now we just need wireless syncing.

Apple released the second version of the iPhone 3.0 OS and SDK Beta today, bringing developers a number of feature improvements and stability fixes.

It’s good news for people like me who are using the beta on their primary phones — against their own good judgment and the advice of Apple and everyone else. The official build number is 7a259g, and this release marks only two weeks since the announcement and initial release of the iPhone 3.0 software.

I had a suspicion that this build’s release timing might have something to do with the recent discovery that if you’re using the brand-new Skype app with the 3.0 firmware installed, you can apparently make calls over your 3G connection instead of just on Wi-Fi. But, lo and behold, 3G voice calls still work with Skype using the new beta. In fact, a lot of the buggy issues I complained about earlier seem to have been resolved with the latest update, including the mic failure when used by third-party apps.

So far, most of the changes I’ve noticed have been improvements to overall performance, less freezing, and generally fewer bugs. Spotlight loads up a lot quicker, and returns results faster, too. Battery life seems to be better, or at least it hasn’t drained completely while streaming Internet radio over 3G. Using the first beta, I could literally watch it die none too slowly when doing this. The real test will be seeing how long the phone can go without a power cycle, since gradual OS slowdown and eventual failure was my biggest problem before. There’s also a weird “Store” menu in the iPhone’s Settings whose purpose isn’t yet clear.

If you were hesitant about using a pre-release build on your primary device, 7a259g may be reason enough to take the plunge. I’ll let you know if any major issues crop up with extended use.